patrick.net

https://spectator.us/halloween-costume-dos-donts-jarvis/

Halloween is a holiday we all look forward to, and in the correct setting, provides us with many opportunities to express our unique identities. However, it is also a minefield for those of us who have the threat of cultural appropriation looming over us like Harvey Weinstein leering at a casting couch. If you are devoid of progressive sensibilities, you might very well end up stepping on an unseen hazard (because of the minefield metaphor), hearing a brief yet sinister tutting sound, before the devastating explosion of offense erupts around you.

DON’T:

Assume that fantasy monsters are an acceptable costume. Your friend has told you they plan to attend the campus Halloween Ball as a zombie from The Walking Dead, hey what a cool idea! WRONG. Do you think leprosy is cool? Well is it? Also, dressing up as someone who is technically dead is a huge trigger for anyone who has lost a beloved relative. Tell your friend to rethink this horrendously insensitive notion and encourage them to create a more appropriate monster costume, for instance ‘Bad Orange Man’, ‘Bad Orange Man Supporter’ or ‘Pro-lifer’.

DON’T:

Dress as an animal…unless you are a member of the noble Furry community. Don’t dress as Freddy Krueger unless you’ve been convicted of child molestation. Don’t dress as a demonic nun unless you’ve attended at least one satanic black mass in which you gave your body and soul to the Dark Lord. Don’t dress as a vampire if you have no experience of being afflicted with anaemia and/or immortality. I could go on, but surely by now, you get the general idea.

All of this is pretty straight-forward, but unfortunately it stills needs to be repeated. Almost any costume has a risk of causing offense. To anyone who is still unsure, I would suggest simply dressing up as yourself. However, to play it completely safe this year, I’m going as ‘Blackface Justin Trudeau’.